Following Indiana football’s 56-22 victory over Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals, the Hoosiers scooped up a potential transfer portal target from the Ducks: former Penn State cornerback A.J. Harris.
Indiana, Oregon and the University of Missouri emerged as the favorites for Harris, On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported on Jan. 6.
Indiana beat out the other two schools, landing Harris on Monday, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Harris was a highly touted transfer portal target as the sixth-best corner back in the 2026 cycle at the time of his commitment, per 247Sports.
Harris was a five-star prospect and the No. 2-ranked cornerback in the 2023 class coming out of high school. He originally committed to the University of Georgia, where he spent one season and recorded eight tackles in seven appearances.
Before the 2024 season, Harris transferred to Penn State. He totaled 81 tackles, six passes defended and one interception across two seasons with the Nittany Lions. The 6-foot-1, 193-pound Harris had his most productive game of the 2025 season against Indiana on Nov. 8. Despite Penn State’s loss, Harris tallied a season-high eight tackles.
The Phenix City, Alabama, native was voted to the All-Big Ten third team in 2024 and was an All-Big Ten defensive honorable mention in 2025.
With defensive back D’Angelo Ponds likely entering the NFL Draft at this season’s end, Harris fills a need in the Indiana secondary for 2026.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
